WJPA Sports

TORONTO (AP) — Esmerlyn Valdez homered for his first career hit, Spencer Horwitz and Oneil Cruz also connected and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep. Valdez was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday and had gone 0 for 7 before hitting a two-run homer off Chase Lee in the sixth inning. Pirates reliever Dennis Santana brokered a trade with a young fan for the ball, handing over a bat signed by Valdez and a Pirates cap in exchange for Valdez’s keepsake. Blue Jays starter Dylan Cease left the game after 4 2/3 innings because of a sore left hamstring. Cease (3-3) allowed two runs and four hits before departing. He walked one and struck out eight. Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left in the bottom of the fifth after being hit on the inside of his right elbow by a pitch from Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller. Lenyn Sosa came in to run for Guerrero and took over at first base. The Blue Jays said an X-ray of Guerrero’s elbow did not reveal a fracture. Keller (5-2) allowed one run and four hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out five. Gregory Soto finished in the ninth for his fifth save in seven chances, striking out Daulton Varsho for the final out and stranding two runners. Horwitz homered on Cease’s first pitch of the game, his fifth of the season. Cruz hit a leadoff blast in the second, his 11th of the year. Infielder Ernie Clement drove in Toronto’s only run with an RBI single in the fourth.

McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — Wyndham Clark shot 11-under 60 to win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on Sunday, overtaking Si Woo Kim by three strokes and pulling away from defending champion Scottie Scheffler after starting the day tied with the top-ranked hometown favorite. The 2023 U.S. Open champion, who shot 30-under 254, went in front for the first time in the final round with an eagle at the par-5 12th and twice took two-shot leads with clutch birdie putts over the final four holes while shooting 28 on the back nine. Kim and Scheffler shot matching 65s.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tomas Hertl weaved his way toward the slot and broke a tie at 8:21 of the third period as the Golden Knights overcame a three-goal deficit Sunday night to beat Colorado 5-3 and move within a victory of their third Stanley Cup Final appearance in nine years. The Golden Knights go for what would be a stunning sweep over the Presidents’ Trophy winners on Tuesday night. Colorado will try to become just the fifth team to win a series after falling behind 3-0. Vegas, which trailed 3-0, was 0-19 in the playoffs when behind that many goals.

San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama wanted the ball for the final couple seconds of the first half. He got it, 65 feet from the basket. He had three Oklahoma City defenders in front of him. He took three dribbles. He got three points. And he made it look easy, too. It was hardly the only moment in which Wembanyama was unstoppable in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals on Sunday. He got most of the fourth quarter off and still finished with 33 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots as the Spurs beat the Thunder 103-82 to tie the West title series at two games apiece.